Tag: books

MARIE CURIE
By Kathleen Krull
Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Viking, 2007

Category: Middle grade biography

I like these “Giants of Science” books. I like them a lot. There are currently four titles in the series; I’ve read ISAAC NEWTON and have LEONARDO DAVINCI and SIGMUND FREUD on the bedside table. Krull’s writing is light and breezy, even when discussing the finer points of (in the case of MARIE CURIE) particle physics. And I appreciate the pains she takes to give readers a sense of the times in which her subject lived. Readers don’t just read about the great Madame Curie, they visit her.

I’m off to nominate this one for a CYBIL award. (Can I do that? My own book was nominated in the same category!) Have you nominated your favorite book for a CYBIL yet? Get to it, man!

 

THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS
By THE GREAT Katherine Paterson
Trophy, 1978

Category: Middle grade fiction

Awards: Newbery Honor

The kids and I read this book to commemorate Banned Books Week 2007. I assume its place on the list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999 is because of Gilly’s language, and I will admit to changing a few “hells” to “hecks” as I read aloud. But this was because I had very young ears listening in, ears attached to a little girl who believes STUPID is a swear word. THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS is a finely rendered look at the frustrations of being young, abandoned, and very, very angry; banning a book that has so much to offer readers for mild language seems, um, STUPID, to me.

From a writer’s perspective, I found it interesting that Gilly is so unlike-able for much of the story. This is hard to pull off, I think, and Paterson did it masterfully. (Hey Liza … are you listening? You know how I always rant about unlikeable protagonists being impossible? I stand corrected!)

 

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET
By Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press, 2007

Category: Hmmm. This one is in a category all its own; Lisa Yee suggests we call it Selznickian

My mind prefers words to images. I am not sure why this is so; it just is. And so I was afraid I might not enjoy THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET the way the rest of the world has. And, truth be told, I was feeling less-than-attached (emotionally speaking) early in the story. But then I got to this moment:

“The black engine was zooming right toward Hugo and he was caught, unable to look away, as though he were watching a movie.”

and realized I was in the hands of a capable and talented writer. By the time I closed the covers I understood that this book was more than words and pictures. It was a three-dimensional experience served up in a gorgeous two-dimensional package. The accolades being heaped upon this book are well-deserved; give it a read, er, a look …

 

THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK
By Carolyn Keene
Grosset & Dunlap, 1959

Category: Middle grade fiction of the most nostalgic sort

Nancy Drew, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving home along a country road in her new, dark-blue convertible. She had just delivered some legal papers for her father.

“It was sweet of Dad to give me this car for my birthday,” she thought. “And it’s fun to help him in his work.”

Think what you will, but this opening thrills me. The scene is as familiar as my own reflection. Nancy Drew! I had forgotten how much I admired her independence, her ability to change tires and think her way out of locked closets, the impossible way that coincidence is always on her side.

I don’t think I’ll go back and read the entire series, but reading this first volume again was fascinating. And because I just can’t help but share more, I’ll leave you with this …

With foreboding, Nancy stopped and got out to make an inspection. As she had suspected, a rear tire was flat.

“Oh dear!” she murmered [sic] in disgust. “Such luck!”

Though Nancy was able to change a tire, she never relished the task. Quickly she took out the spare tire from the rear compartment, found the jack and lug wrench, and went to work. By the time her job was completed, she was hot and a little breathless.

“Whew!” she exclaimed, as she started on her way again. “I’ll be ready for a nice, cool swim in Moon Lake!”

 

THE DOT
Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick, 2003

Category: Picture Book

This book was featured in a peace vigil I attended earlier in the month, and I have been thinking about it ever since. I know, I know … THE DOT is not a book about peace. But it is a book about self-expression, and since we were gathered to express our wishes for peace in the world, reading THE DOT was supremely appropriate.

Toward the end of the service, percussionist Matt Meyer reflected on the story and asked us to consider which character in THE DOT most described our place in the world: the student, unsure of her skills and afraid to make her mark; or the teacher, wise from experience and able to say, “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.”

I am SO both.

 

BEFORE I DIE
By Jenny Downham
David Fickling Books, 2007

Category: Young adult fiction

Practical details:

• I connected to the BEFORE I DIE buzz at EmilyReads (read this post), and was intrigued.
• My friend Jane, librarian extraordinaire, saved it for me when it arrived at her library; otherwise I might never have gotten my mitts on it.
• I read it (lived it, really) for two days.

Less-than-practical truths:

• I was utterly taken from the first chapter.
• This was a book I read only in quiet moments when I could lose myself. No reading in the car during pickup, no reading at the stove while fixing dinner. I read this book only when there was quiet space to curl up and feel it. (As mothers of three don’t often have such quiet space, I had to make it. And I did. For this book.)
• I was inconsolable at THE END. And let’s face it: I knew all along how it would end.
• Tessa is a girl I will think about for a long while. Perhaps always.

Here’s a review from The New York Times.

 

IF YOU WERE A PARROT
By Katherine Rawson
Illustrated by Sherry Rogers
Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2006

Category: Picture Book

We used to vacation with friends who kept an African Grey Parrot as a pet. Ricky was an ornery bugger, refusing most of the time to talk, though we all knew he could. On a good day, and when we least expected it, Ricky would make the sound of a telephone ringing; I fell for it every time.

Perhaps Ricky is the reason I was so enthralled with IF YOU WERE A PARROT. Katherine Rawson’s simple text highlights parrot body parts while Sherry Rogers’s bright illustrations confront readers with compelling “what if” scenarios: What if you had parrot feet? What if you had a parrot beak? The expressive parrots on each spread made me laugh … and think of Ricky. This little picture book explores the relationship between form and function without ever resorting to didactics, and is a fine way for young readers to learn about parrots.

IF YOU WERE A PARROT is also a fine way to familiarize yourself with illustrator Sherry Rogers, who I had the great pleasure of interviewiing recently. Sherry has created a beautiful snowflake for Robert’s Snow, and I will be showcasing Sherry, her art, and her fabulous snowflake on Thursday. I hope you will stop back to meet her!

 

THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD
By Nicolas Debon
Groundwood, 2007

Category: Picture book biography

I should have very astute things to say about this book, but I am feeling less-than-astute at the moment. I’m too excited about meeting Nicolas Debon in person at the Boston Athenaeum tonight! With any luck I will have recovered my wits by then and find something to say other than: “your book rocks and I can totally see why it was chosen for this award!”

Other people* I am excited to meet and congratulate:

M.T. Anderson

Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Sara Pennypacker

Tim Wynne-Jones

Jean-Luc Fromental

Emily Gravett

Sid Fleischman

!

I also get to hang out with my favorite editor in this world and lots of other bookish folks that I am excited to get to know.

!!!

(*The links are to my blog musings about their respective award books)

 

THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF
By Emily Ferrara
Bordighera Press, 2007

Category: Poetry

Emily Ferrara and I attend the same UU Church and I am excited to let you know about her new book of poetry. THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF won the 2006 Bordighera Poetry Prize and will be published in a bilingual translation (English and Italian) by Bordighera Press. Here’s what poet and physician Richard. M. Berlin has to say about the book:

“In her exquisite first collection of poems, Emily Ferrara reveals the unexpected power of regeneration at the core of a grieving mother’s heart. From the initial hot coals of loss to her final vision of God’s force, these poems take us on a journey of transformation. Catalyzed by nature, faith, family and friendship, written in a voice that is stunning and direct, Ferrara weaves her magic with the language of poetry. These poems convince me, that in Ferrara’s skilled hands, we truly have a poetry of healing.”

Emily will celebrate the release of THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF in New York and in Worcester. Do join her if you can, and look for THE ALCHEMY OF GRIEF in November.

BOOK LAUNCH
November 8, 2007, 6:30 pm
John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
City University of New York Graduate Center
25 West 43rd Street, 17th floor, NY , NY

BILINGUAL READING & BOOK-SIGNING
November 19,2007, 7 pm
The Gene J. DeFuedis Italian American Cultural Center
28 Mulberry Street, Worcester , MA